Students interested in Winter of Code can register by filling a form. Selected students will work with mentors from their accepted organisations. They'll amalgamate with their organisations before coding, learning about the community. Students have one month to code and meet deadlines agreed upon with mentors. Successful completion earns cool schwags.

Open source organisations can apply to be mentor organisations. Once accepted, organisations discuss ideas with students and decide on proposals to mentor. They provide feedback, guiding each student through the program. Mentors and students collaborate to determine milestones and requirements. Mentor interaction is a vital part of the program.

Mentors guide students throughout their projects, reviewing code samples. They offer valuable feedback, suggesting improvements. Mentors determine if a student has successfully completed the Winter of Code project. Students are then notified of the pass/fail status, and schwags are delivered accordingly.